Patenting An Invention

Patenting an invention is one of the most important steps that you can take if you have something in your hands that can be considered as revolutionary, or something new, and have been virtually undiscovered or “un-thought” of before. You may be the one who conceptualized a certain design or product, yet without a patent for it, you cannot consider it yours, let alone have the public recognize it as such. This is why, for any invention, a patent is a must.

Now the big question is, how do you get your invention patented? According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the right that is conferred by the grant of patent, is found in the statute that provides for the grant which is, “the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling” of a particular invention in the U.S. So basically, if you have new invention ideas and you want to exclude other people from making use of it thereof, the initial step that you would have to make is to file an application for a U.S. patent at the USPTO.

There is no guarantee that filing an application with the USPTO would automatically mean that you would be getting the patent for the invention that you have in your hands. Your application would have to go through a meticulous examination by one of the examiners in the patent office. There are various types of patent applications that you can choose from, which would also be dependent on the type of invention that you have.

If you have discovered a useful process, composition, machine or improvements, then you can opt to file a Utility Patent Application. On the other hand, if you have a new and original design of a particular article of manufacture, then a Design Patent Application would be appropriate for you. If you love plants and you were able to asexually produce a new variety of a plant, then a Plant Patent Application will be most applicable.

You must also take note that there are two categories of applications, provisional and non-provisional. Provisional applications are those that are usually prepared by non-professionals. Things which you may fail to include in provisional applications would not receive any kind of protection. On the other hand, the non-provisional applications are more costly and would require more work in the application process. However, it is essentially more beneficial to inventors and provides the latter with a more comprehensive protection.

If you don’t want to go through the tedious process of patenting an invention by filing an application at the USPTO, then you can look for invention submission companies to help you with getting a patent for your invention. You can also think of ways on how to sell your inventions to possible companies who would be interested. Just make sure that you know the extent of the benefit that a company will receive from your invention so that you may properly assess its value and be well-compensated for your invention.